


The Kindness of the Universe

by klanstability (Shanimalx)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Comfort, Emotional Comfort, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Pining Keith (Voltron), That's Not The Real Shiro, but i did include the part in ep6 when shiro talks to lance bc, except he doesnt realize it, in this house we love and support L A N C E, just some softe boyes, mostly only season-4 compliant bc krolia complicates things, well its implied at least
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-03-31 06:26:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13969263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shanimalx/pseuds/klanstability
Summary: The kindness of the universe has a name.Keith comes to realize that it's Lance.





	The Kindness of the Universe

**Author's Note:**

> Heya!! This is my first offical published fic for the Voltron fandom!! 
> 
> I came up with this idea during a discord sprint mostly bc it was an idea I was toying with for a bang, but also because im a huge fucking lance stan and he needs to know exactly how much everyone (including me) loves him.
> 
> ty to KiannaCat (littlebird12j on tumblr) for betaing!!

You could say that leaving the Blades of Marmora was the best thing that Keith's ever done. Lance certainly thinks so. Keith might too. 

It certainly felt like the best moment of his life when the whole team surrounded him in another group hug, Lance being the first to pounce when he finally returned to the Castleship. He almost cried at how long they held him, how big their smiles were. Almost. He didn't want to get Lance's shirt wet, or he'd never live it down. (Although, his eyes did seem a little glassier than normal after they all disbanded.)

It was a feeling he'd not soon forget, but it seemed to be short-lived. The next day, Lance came to find Keith as he was leaving his room for the training deck. 

"I know you just got back," he said, nervously rubbing the back of his neck, "but there's something you need to know. It's about Shiro."

Keith should have known things would go south as soon as he got back. For once, he'd just like one week free of trouble, Shiro-related or otherwise. The universe was rarely so kind to him. 

"What about him? Is he okay?"

Lance hung his head. "Honestly, I'm not sure. He came to me a while back and told me that he's been having headaches, and that he hadn't been feeling like himself, and I have to agree. He's been acting really strange, snapping at us or not remembering certain things--pretty much all of us have noticed something off about him." He rested a hand on Keith's shoulder, grounding him for the news to come. "Keith, I'm telling you this because you're the closest to him out of all of us, and I want to be able to help him, but--" Their eyes met, and the desperate look on Lance's face sent a cold shiver down Keith's spine. 

"What is it, Lance?" he asked, barely a whisper, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

"I don't think that's the real Shiro. I don't think it's been the real Shiro for a long time."

"What?" The words sent Keith's mind reeling. How could it not be the real Shiro? They had rescued him themselves, the Black Lion personally leading them to him.

_But_ , said a voice at the back of his head. It sent his thoughts back to before he left to join the Blades: how Shiro had pushed the rest of the team into dangerous situations against Keith's better judgement. How Shiro always dismissed his suggestions and never seemed to take his leadership seriously. How long the Black Lion had taken to accept him back as its paladin. It had seemed a little out of character for him at the time, but Keith had just brushed it off as part of his recent trauma. 

Now that he thought about it, Shiro's change in behavior towards him played a large part in why he actually left for the Blades in the first place. Shiro hadn't even said anything particularly meaningful to him when he returned. 

Lance's grip on his shoulder tightened. "Keith, you okay? I don't wanna scare you but--"

Keith shook his head and swallowed hard, trying not to let emotion betray his words. "No, I'm fine. Thanks, Lance." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I think you might be right." He felt like he should be more upset, but he was left with only a vague, sinking feeling in his gut. Perhaps the shock would kick in later.

For now, he supposed he was just relieved that Lance had brought it to his attention, and that now he could pinpoint a reason why he felt like he had to join the Blades as strongly as he did. He'd always regretted leaving Team Voltron at least a little bit. The Blades of Marmora weren't anything close to the family Voltron had become, even with Lance's weird fixation on their so-called rivalry.

"Good," Lance nodded and let go of Keith's shoulder. "I mean, not that Shiro's acting weird, but-- well, I wasn't sure how you'd take it. I just want what's best for the team." Keith's heart swelled. Thinking of others had always been one of Lance's best qualities. It was something the Blades of Marmora discouraged. Keith smiled. Perhaps the universe was kind to him in other ways.

If he was honest, he'd missed Lance the most out of everyone. Despite their constant butting of heads, they really did make a great team. Lance was so much more valuable as a teammate than he seemed to realize; Keith had thought about him often during his missions and considered how Lance would have approached each situation before taking action. He really ought to thank him - Lance had likely inadvertently saved Keith’s life on more than one occasion. 

_ No time like the present. _

"Hey, Lance?"

"Yeah?" He met Keith's eyes again, and Keith felt like he could drown in the compassion he found there.

"I just want to say thanks."

"For what?"

_ Oh, for more than you know.  _

Keith took a deep breath. "For always being there."

That would have been the simple answer. It was the answer that Keith would have been satisfied to leave Lance with, along with a friendly shoulder pat, but once Keith’s mouth had opened, the rest came spilling out, no longer under his control.

"You always seem to know just what to say, and you're always thinking of the bigger picture--of the team, of the aliens on the planets we save, of the rest of the universe! Everything you do is for someone else. It's the exact opposite of how the Blades think, but it-- _ it works _ . You're so incredibly supportive, even when you don't want to be. When the Black Lion chose me, I can't tell you how much it meant what you said, especially since I know you wanted it so bad. And even when I left, you thought I was being selfish, but you respected my choice anyway." 

Keith paused, collecting his thoughts. Lance stood quietly, waiting. 

"When Shiro first went missing from the Black Lion, it felt like the whole universe was against me. I was so angry that no one else wanted to find him, and that you all wanted to replace him. But you helped me see that that wasn't true. You knew what to say to help me come to terms with that. And you helped remind me that as the head of Voltron, I was supposed to be a team leader. I wasn't so good at that at first." 

Lance chuckled at that. Keith smiled back. This was so long overdue.

"So thanks, Lance. For being there for me. No matter what." He put his hand on Lance's shoulder. A symbol of comfort and of trust. Stabilizing and grounding. Lance had shown him that. "I missed you. You're a great right hand of Voltron."

Ants crawled around in his stomach as he and Lance stood there smiling at each other. Lance patted the arm on his shoulder and gave a small nod. Even after all that, Keith was baffled that Lance -  _ Lance! _ \- did nothing but nod. He  _ had _ to know exactly how important he was to the team - no, to Keith. He had to know  _ somehow _ . A quiet still sat between them before Keith couldn't help but close the distance. He gripped Lance's shoulders and pressed his lips to Lance’s cheek. 

"We make a great team," Keith said.

Heat flooded his face as he pulled away, and his insides exploded in a flurry of nervous energy as he was struck by what his impulses had just led him to do. His awkward smile came out as more of a grimace, and he turned quickly on his heel to make his way to the training deck. (Though, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to train properly in his current state.)

"Do you mean that?" Lance’s voice, gruff with emotion, spoke up behind him.

Keith stopped. "Yeah," he said, clearing the tightness from his throat and turning around to face Lance again. "And I'm sure the rest of the team feels the same way."

Lance took a step closer, enough to close the gap Keith had made between them and then some. This close, Keith felt like he could read Lance's soul in his eyes.

"...Not the  _ same _ way."

It was more of a statement than a question. A clarification, but not about the part of his affirmation that Keith would have thought. Lance was asking for a confirmation of something else entirely. Something intimate. Something unsure.

And here, standing much too close to each other, Keith supposed his answer was no. It surprised him in a way that left his heart swelling with a soft satisfaction.

"...No, not really," he said, his gaze lowering to rest on Lance's mouth.

Maybe, he concluded, the universe  _ could _ be so kind after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think ~
> 
> You can follow me on tumblr at klanstability.tumblr.com.


End file.
